Charlie Swan
"No matter which side I'm on, if someone kisses you without your permission, you should be able to make your feelings clear without hurting yourself." _Charlie to Bella on hitting Jacob.src Charlie Swan (born 1964) is the husband of Renee Swan (nee Higginbotham, formerly Dwyer) (due to Bella's transformation) and the father of Bella Swan as well as the father-in-law of Edward Cullen and the maternal grandfather of Renesmee Cullen. He is the son of Geoffrey and Helen Swan (deceased) and the son-in-law of Marie Higginbotham (Renee's deceased mother). He is the chief of The Forks Police Department. He is portrayed by Billy Burke (the father of teenage actress Christie Burke). Biography Early life Charlie was born and raised in Forks by his parents, Geoffrey and Helen Swan. Geoffrey and Helen were both in their mid-forties when Charlie was born; they had thought they were unable to have children, so Charlie was a huge, but very welcome, surprise. He remained an only child and stayed close to both his parents. Billy Black, Harry Clearwater, and Quil Ateara IV were his close friends since childhood. During his teenage years, Charlie always felt a little bit on the outside of his circle of friends. He attributed that distance to the fact that the others all belonged to the Quileute tribe and he did not. In reality, Billy, Harry and Quil were caught up in the secret world they were forbidden to tell Charlie about. As an adult, Charlie joined the Forks Police Department. He wanted to go to college, but his parents' health began deteriorating at the time and he felt that he needed to stay close to home. His mother was in the early stages of Alzheimer's and his father's mobility was being curtailed by severe arthritis. Charlie did everything he could to help care for them. During Charlie's first summer as a cop, he met Renee Higginbotham. She was driving up the Pacific Highway with a group of her friends, and they stopped to camp at First Beach in La Push. Charlie was visiting Billy when he met Renee on the beach. There was an instant attraction between the two. They spent a few days together before her friends were ready to continue their journey. Renee promised to visit Charlie on the return trip. In her absence, Charlie realized just how much he had fallen for Renee. She returned as promised, and he convinced her to stay when her friends left. Renee was impetuous and romantic by nature, and she loved the passionate whirlwind relationship. Charlie quickly proposed and Renee accepted. They were married at the courthouse in Port Angeles, Washington, just a few weeks later. Charlie bought a small house down the street from his parents' home. For a little while, he and Renee were deliriously happy. Charlie was even happier when he found out Renee was pregnant with their first child a few months later. A few months after Bella was born, Charlie and Renee are extremely happy for let their daughter to grow up and become into a beautiful young woman when Bella will reach 17-year-old teenager and Bella will be married at the age of 18. Twilight Main article: Twilight Charlie first appears in the series when he picks up Bella, who is now 17, after deciding to move back in with him while her mother left Florida after getting divorced with her second ex-husband. After a couple of months, Bella falls in love with Edward Cullen, a vampire who also lives in Forks. Charlie and Renee is surprised, and tentatively accepts Bella's choice, oblivious to the fact that Edward is a vampire. The couple believes that it is for the best that Charlie and Renee doesn't know the truth about Edward and his family. In the "Twilight" movie, Charlie and Renee is constantly making sure that Bella has pepper spray with her. When she goes to prom, he and Renee puts a new can of pepper spray in her bag, not trusting Edward after what happened when she went out with him previously. However, he and Renee is accepting of Edward being Bella's boyfriend. New Moon Main article: New Moon "I've never felt so helpless." _Charlie to Renee on Bella's deep depressionsrc "Don't you worry, Charlie. We'll do anything to protect Bella from the vampire world, you just leave it to me." _Renee to Charlie on protecting their daughtersrc In "New Moon", after Bella's accident on her 18th birthday, Edward leaves with his family, claiming that he no longer loves her, with the intention of keeping her safe. Bella subsequently falls into a long-lasting deep depression for several months, leaving Charlie and Renee hurt because of their inability to help her overcome it. During this time, Charlie and Renee comes to really hate Edward for what he did, and encourages Bella to spend more time with Jacob Black, who seems to make her happier. Later, Alice Cullen, believing that Bella was dead, had come back in confusion, and upon hearing that Edward is going to commit suicide Bella runs off with her, leaving Charlie and Renee worried sick for days. They return three days later, but Charlie and Renee bans Edward from the house, no longer trusting him, and forbids Bella from seeing him again. Bella threatens to move out if he and Renee doesn't retract their decisions, and Charlie and Renee grudgingly agrees though still grounds her in hopes of putting some distance between her and Edward. Charlie and Renee shows an obvious preference for Jacob, as he "stitched Bella up" after Edward left. At the end of "New Moon", Jacob hands in Bella's motorcycle hoping to get her grounded, not knowing that she is already grounded for leaving without explanation. Eclipse Main article: Eclipse In "Eclipse", Charlie and Renee still mistrusts Edward and worries that Bella's whole life is revolving around the Cullens. As a result, he and Renee agrees to end Bella's grounding under the condition that she spend time with her other friends, particularly Jacob. He and Renee tells her that Jake helped when she was hurting in a way of persuasion. Charlie and Renee makes it clear that they wants Bella to choose Jacob over Edward, especially when he and Renee approves of Jacob forcing a kiss on Bella. Throughout the book, Charlie and Renee is very worried about the mysterious and violent serial murders occurring in Seattle, which are being committed by members of the Seattle newborn army. Towards the end of the book, he and Renee spends time in La Push with Billy as a ploy by Bella and the werewolves to keep them safe during the fight against Victoria and her army of newborn vampires. Near the end of the book, Charlie and Renee has a feeling that they is going to lose Bella, and tells her to give them a warning if she decides to run off. Sometime later, Bella comes home after visiting Jacob and tells Renee and Charlie that she had chosen Edward over him, and that they had broken off. Charlie and Renee is disappointed over it, and also disapproves of her telling Jacob while he was recovering from his injuries. Charlie and Renee is forced to accept her choice, pointing out that Edward seems to care for Bella's safety more than Jacob does. Bella and Edward later decide to tell him and Renee about their engagement, saying that it is highly dangerous, as they will probably be against it. In both the book and the "Eclipse" film, Charlie and Renee awkwardly has "the talk" with Bella because they thinks that their daughter and Edward are sleeping together, but Bella ends the conversation by telling them that she is still a virgin, prompting him and Renee to like Edward a little better. Breaking Dawn Main article: Breaking Dawn At the beginning of Breaking Dawn, Bella reminisces on the day she and Edward informed Renee and Charlie about their engagement. Charlie and Renee reacts with rage when they initially thinks Bella is pregnant, but calms down when told that this isn't the case. It turns out, however, that Renee's feelings about marriage apply only to herself and Charlie, and she and Charlie accepts Bella's choice wholeheartedly. After this, Charlie feels like there is nothing he can do, and begrudgingly accepts Bella's marriage to Edward. Meanwhile, Charlie and Renee also starts a search for Jacob who ran away after being rejected by Bella. Bella returns home to find Charlie trying his tux by Alice's pester and Renee's request. He and Renee is assigned with bringing Mr. Weber and his family to the Cullen house as his only job. At the wedding, he is present to see his wife Renee give their daughter Bella a pair of blue hair clips and later walk her down the aisle. When Renee and Charlie hears that Bella and Edward are back from their honeymoon, they are forbidden to see her. He and Renee goes crazy with worry when Carlisle falsely tells them that Bella has contracted a rare illness in South America and has been taken to Atlanta for treatment. In reality, she was pregnant with a half-human/half-vampire baby, and it was growing at an abnormal rate. A little over a month later, Bella gives birth to a girl named Renesmee. Jacob imprints on the baby, curing him from his broken heart over Bella. When Jacob learns about the Cullens' plan of moving, he believes that Charlie and Renee is the main reason. Unwilling to be separated from Renesmee, he informs Charlie and Renee about their world, in hopes that his new knowledge will keep the Cullens around for a while longer, going to the extent as to phase into his wolf-form in front of him and Renee. Charlie and Renee is shocked to discover the existence of supernatural forces, but orders Jacob and later Bella not to let them know any more than what is necessary. She and Charlie talks to Bella (who by now had become a vampire), and meets their granddaughter for the first time. Edward says Renesmee is his niece, and that he and Bella are adopting her. Charlie, however, figures out the truth when he stares into Renesmee's chocolate brown eyes; his chocolate brown eyes. He and Renee agrees, however, to stick to the adoption as the public story to protect them. He and Renee coos over Renesmee constantly, and states that she is prettier than any baby they has ever seen, including Bella. He is also cheered by the fact that Renesmee's middle name is "Carlie", a combination of Carlisle and Charlie. He and Bella also agree to tell Renee about the mythical world or Renesmee, since they knew she would be able to handle it. He also makes Bella promise to visit when they decide to move away, knowing that they won't stay forever. Between September and December, Charlie and Renee visits the Cullens daily to hang out with their daughter and granddaughter, with Renee's second ex-husband, Phil Dwyer and his new girlfriend, Sue Clearwater as company. Whenever Renesmee did something too advanced for her appearance, he and Renee would look to Phil, Sue and Phil's stepchildren, Seth and Leah for moral support, but has otherwise grown very close to their new family. During the crisis period of the Volturi's threat, Charlie and Renee is told to stay away from the Cullen house because of the "need-to-know company". He and Renee also notices that something is not right with Bella and her family, but doesn't push to find out what is going on. He is last seen celebrating Christmas at his house with Renee, Bella, Edward, Renesmee, Jacob, Sue, Phil, Leah, Seth, Emily, Sam and the rest of Jacob's pack. He and Renee receives a sonar system used for fishing from Edward (tickets to Frasier River fishing trip from Bella and Edward in the movie). By the end of "The Twilight Saga", he has ended a romantic relationship with Sue after she declares that Phil was her second choice and she remarried to Phil, as well as taking her, Seth and Leah's surname "Dwyer". His friendship with Billy Black, however, is to be what it once was but not. Charlie reconciles with Renee and Renee remarries to him as well as going back to Charlie's surname "Swan". Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined Main article: Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined In the alternate story of Twilight where most characters have swapped gender and names, Charlie is one of the few who remain the same. In this story, he and Renee have a son named Beaufort "Beau" Swan instead of a daughter. Similarly to Bella, Charlie rarely communicates with Beau but internally enjoy each other's company. When Renee and her new ex-husband got divorced right after Renee left Florida, Beau, now 17, decides to move back to Charlie's with his mother, Renee by his side for his junior and senior high school years. After a couple of months, Beau falls in love with a local vampire named Edythe Cullen. Charlie and Renee is surprised, and tentatively accepts Beau's choice, oblivious to the fact that Edythe is a vampire. When Beau unexpectedly becomes a vampire, the Cullens decide to fake his death. This crushes Charlie and Renee's heart completely. During Beau's funeral, he and Renee struggles to remain calm. Beau, heartbroken for his family, asks his best friend Bonnie Black to look after Charlie and Renee and tell them if there is anything he could do in secret. Physical appearance "Charlie wasn't comfortable with expressing his feelings out loud. I inherited that from him." _Bella on Charliesrc Charlie is a naturally person and not a loner and doesn't enjoy to be in big crowds; these traits were passed on to Bella, who was quite the loner herself before meeting the Cullens. It is also stated that Bella got her clumsiness from Charlie. At times, he could be depicted as being funny by accident. During free time, he mostly spends his time watching baseball or fishing. Bella has said that her relationship with her father is quite odd, but she finds Charlie and Renee easier to live with since he respects her privacy with Renee by his side when she needs it even though he and Renee is protective of her. Charlie has also been described as overbearing at times but loving. It is made obvious in the book, that Charlie has a hard time trying to be involved in Bella's life because he is shyer than her mother whom he reconcile his marriage relationship with. When Bella got in a near-car accident in "Twilight/Midnight Sun", Edward senses that Charlie loves and cares for Bella much more than he would like her to know. In "Midnight Sun", he seems to show some defense against psychic powers, as Edward finds his thoughts hard to read, and he feels the emotional direction behind his thoughts is opposed to the words. This indicates that Bella had inherited her power from him, but made it much more powerful. His granddaughter Renesmee, however, shows an opposite power, which makes her capable of penetrating a psychic barrier. Relationships Charlie is the re-husband of Renee Swan (nee Higginbotham, formerly Dwyer) (due to Bella's transformation), the father of Bella Swan, the father-in-law of Edward Cullen and the maternal grandfather of Renesmee Cullen. Sue Clearwater-Dwyer Main article: Charlie Swan and Sue Clearwater-Dwyer "I'm so glad Charlie's found someone to take care of him." _Bellasrc Sue Clearwater (later Sue Dwyer, formerly Sue Swan) is the mother of Seth and Leah Clearwater-Dwyer, and Harry Clearwater's ex-wife as well as Charlie Swan's ex-love interest and Phil Dwyer's new wife (after Phil and Renee's divorce). After Bella married Edward and become a vampire, Sue started visiting Charlie to keep him company with her new love interest, new boyfriend and new husband, Phil Dwyer (Renee's second ex-husband) and help him adjust to the supernatural. Renee Dwyer-Swan Main article: Charlie Swan and Renee Higginbotham "She seems different, she seems happy or not. Phil sounds like an alright guy." _Charlie on Reneesrc Renee Swan (formerly Renee Dwyer) is Charlie's re-wife, who returned to his life after their daughter become a vampire and raised their grandchild, Renesmee "Nessie" Carlie Cullen with their son-in-law. Charlie still cares about Renee and Renee remain still in love with Charlie as he still did in love with her, and they got back together again by their daughter's request after Renee move back to Forks and divorces her second ex-husband Phil Dwyer (who becomes Sue Clearwater's new love interest), remarry after Bella became a vampire and start visiting their daughter, their son-in-law and their maternal granddaughter (whom Renee hasn't seen Renesmee for a while). After he learned that Bella has become involved with the supernatural and gone through a "change", he agrees to keep Renee to protect her. He also keeps her about their grandchild, Renesmee. Bella Swan-Cullen "One of the best things about Charlie-he doesn't hover." _Bella on Charliesrc Bella Swan (later Bella Cullen) is Charlie's daughter. He loves her deeply even though they don't speak often. In truth, Bella loves him just as much. When Charlie got to remarry to his wife, Renee, after she divorces from her new ex-husband, Phil Dwyer (who becomes Sue Clearwater's new love interest). At the age of seventeen, in her junior year of high school, Bella and her mother, Renee to move back to Forks after her parents' re-marriage, Charlie respects her privacy along with Renee, and they often spend comfortable moments of silence together. At Bella's wedding, he walks her down the aisle. After Bella has become a vampire, Jacob tells him and Renee about the underlying supernatural world and Bella's involvement with it, although without informing them directly that she has become a vampire. Despite the shock caused by the change, he and Renee learns to cope with it and ultimately remains a part of her new life. Edward Cullen "His thoughts were partially concealed, not absent. I could only make out the tenor, the tone of them..." _Edward's realization of Bella and Charlie's similar defense.src Edward Cullen is Charlie's son-in-law. Even though Charlie liked the Cullens, he became a little defensive when Edward started dating his daughter, Bella. His dislike grows into hatred when Edward and his family leave Forks on unexpected notice, leaving Bella in an emotional depression that lasted for half a year. Though his return made her normal again, Charlie's dislike of him continued and even wanted her to be as separate from him as possible, but he came to respect his daughter's choice, even walking her down the aisle to marry Edward. In "Breaking Dawn-Part 1", Charlie makes a threatening yet comedic speech about Edward being a good husband for his daughter because he knows how to use a gun and how to hunt someone to the ends of the earth. They grew closer to each other after he was introduced to the supernatural world, now being able to see Edward, Bella, and Renesmee more often with Renee by his side as his wife again. Renesmee Cullen "I could see it in his face-I could watch it growing there. Charlie was just as helpless against her magic as the rest of us. Two seconds in his arms, and already she owned him." _Bella's notice on Charlie's fondness of Renesmeesrc Renesmee Cullen is Charlie's granddaughter. Bella gave birth to her one month after marrying Edward. He first meets her after Jacob told him and Renee about the mythical world. Although Edward and Bella tell him and Renee that Renesmee is an orphan that they've adopted, he discovers their biological relation when he looks into her eyes (which he recognizes as his own), but decides to stick to the adoption as their public story for their safety but convinced his re-wife, Renee that their grandchild is a half-human/half-vampire hybrid and puts her on his side with Bella and Edward. He instantly comes to love her, and by the end of the year, they have grown very close to each other. He also calls her by the nickname "Nessie", and sometimes "Ness", much to Bella's annoyance. Bella and Edward have prohibited Renesmee from using her powers around Charlie, biting him, or even speaking aloud, since she appears physically too young to be able to speak. Nevertheless, she still unintentionally startles him by doing things too advanced for her apparent age and her unprecedented growth rate, though he sees past all the awkwardness. Jacob Black "I just watched a kid I'd known his entire life turn into a very large dog..." _Charlie's comment on Jacob.src Jacob Black is the son of Charlie's best friend, Billy Black. Charlie has always thought of Jacob as a good kid, but after Jacob helped Bella become happier and normal after Edward's departure, Charlie began to like him even more. Charlie also states that he'd prefer Bella being with Jacob rather than Edward, saying that it wouldn't hurt for Edward to have a little competition. But after believing Jacob was injured in a motorcycle accident, he realizes that Edward does care for Bella's safety a bit more than Jacob does. When Jacob disappeared, Charlie set out the force to find him to no avail, even though Billy and Bella didn't bother looking for Jacob. When Bella chose Edward over Jacob, Charlie was a little disappointed but quickly respected her choice. In "Breaking Dawn" when Jacob reveals to Charlie that he can transform into a giant wolf, Charlie becomes a bit frightened and tense around him. However, they remain on good terms, and Charlie begins to cope, becoming more relaxed and comfortable around him. He also notices the special bond that Jacob shares with his granddaughter, Renesmee. Alice Cullen "Me, he likes." _Alice to Bella on Charlie's fondness of hersrc Alice Cullen is Charlie's in-law-family member, Edward's adoptive sister. Despite the fact that he doesn't like Edward, he is rather fond of Alice. This is shown multiple times during "New Moon" by the nickname he has taken to calling her 'Angel' after she helped Bella recover from her injuries in "Twilight", and when she visits Bella near the end of "New Moon". This fondness is even stronger in "Eclipse", as she has unlimited visitation rights to the Swan house while Edward is limited to 7-9:30. He also admits in the movie version that he likes her better than Edward, to the point telling her not to be a stranger when visiting the Swan. At the beginning of "Breaking Dawn", she is the one to design his tuxedo for Bella and Edward's wedding, and persuades him to try it on. Despite his complaints, he complies. Since finding out about her family being supernatural, his friendly relationship with Alice remains a mystery. Billy Black Billy Black is Charlie's best friend, and a disabled Quileute elder. They have always been close to each other. Both of them enjoy watching baseball and fishing. Because of this relationship, Billy kindly warned Bella about being involved with the Cullens. Billy drags Charlie to go fishing in "Eclipse" during the newborn crisis to keep him safe, but he himself is constantly distracted by his worries over his son's safety. However, after he found out about the supernatural in "Breaking Dawn", Bella notices that their friendship is as it use to be but not, though this change seems more connected to after his newfound relationship with Sue has ended. Because Sue chose Phil over him marrying Phil and takes her, Seth and Leah's surname "Dwyer" while Charlie reconciles his marriage relationship with Renee, remarrying her and Renee going back to Charlie's surname "Swan" after Charlie and Billy remain best friends forever. Film portrayal Billy Burke was given the role of Charlie Swan in "Twilight". He then reprised his role for the rest of the series. He is often given most of the jokes in the first three films, and has been acclaimed as the saga's most lovable character. Billy also starred in a new hit television program called "Revolution", along with J.D. Pardo, who portrays Nahuel in "Breaking Dawn-Part 2", before it was cancelled after two seasons. Appearances * Twilight * Twilight (film) * Midnight Sun * Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined * New Moon * New Moon (film) * Eclipse * Eclipse (film) * Breaking Dawn * Breaking Dawn-Part 1 (film) * Breaking Dawn-Part 2 (film)